WASHINGTON, D.C.—Standard General’s Soohyung Kim has written a new letter to the FCC offering new assurances to critics and labor unions that Standard General’s $8.6 billion acquisition of Tegna will not result in layoffs in newsrooms or reduced coverage of local news.
The letter noted that Standard General “has repeatedly stated in the record that (i) it has no intention of reducing local news or newsroom staff (or station-level staffing more generally) as a result of the Transactions and (ii) contrary to concerns that have been raised, Tegna’s DC newsroom will be used to supplement and enhance Tegna’s local news offerings and will in no way serve to displace local news or local journalists.”
“To further remove any doubt about station news staffing matters, Standard General commits that it will not conduct any journalism or newsroom staffing layoffs or similar reductions at the stations for a minimum of two years following the Transactions,” the letter noted. “To be clear, Standard General does not have plans for any future station staffing reductions, but cannot predict how future economic conditions or changes in the broadcast industry may require broadcasters to make adjustments in the composition or size of station staffing to best serve the needs of the public. In that regard, Standard General expects that implementation of its plans to increase station news content at Tegna will actually increase the number of journalists and newsroom employees at the stations.”
“In addition, Standard General agrees that it will cause Tegna to recognize each of the labor unions currently covered by a collective bargaining agreement with Tegna as the exclusive collective bargaining representatives of those bargaining unit employees and will cause Tegna to honor such collective bargaining agreements,” Soohyung Kim also wrote. “Standard General would also be happy to engage with the labor unions to discuss any existing or outstanding grievances they may have with their respective collective bargaining agreements.”
